AFL Gather Round LIVE: Gold Coast make their charge after Swans’ stunning start; Dons’ horror streak ends in style

The Swans get a vital goal against the breeze, through Corey Warner, to extend the margin out to 19 points.

Warner was at the end of a frenetic passage inside 50 featuring Tom Papley and Isaac Heeney.

It’s getting heated. Tom Papley and Wil Powell exchanged pleasantries. Papley was seeing red. Powell had a good laugh at it.

The Suns get a much-needed goal against the flow of play through Jed Walter, who has kicked two.

Is it starting to turn for the Suns? Ben King has marked strongly on the lead and from 50 metres out with the breeze behind him makes no mistake. He knew as soon it left his boot that was going through.

Sydney 6.7 (43) Gold Coast 4.2 (26)

This is hard viewing if you’re a Suns fan. The Suns can hardly breathe. Every time they get the ball they are besieged by Swans.

They’re at the point now where they are feeling the pressure even when it’s not immediate. It’s causing them to fumble, lose their feet and chase tail.

Justin McInerney has benefited from the latest Suns turnover to kick the Swans’ sixth. The lead is now 29 points.

The alarm bells will be ringing in the Suns coach’s box.

The Swans have booted another, this one to former Sun Malcolm Rosas. The Suns, though, hit back immediately, scoring after a clean takeaway by Will Graham from the centre bounce to set up Ben Long.

The Suns have an injury concern of their own, to Dan Rioli, who has come off for treatment to his left ankle.

Sydney 5.5 (35) Gold Coast 2.1 (13)

Damien Hardwick will be fuming. After their poor effort last week against Melbourne, Gold Coast have made an ordinary start. They just don’t look switched on.

Riley Bice was allowed to mark unguarded inside 50 for a goal, and Wil Powell dropped one he should have taken backing into the pack.

They’ve been given a donation by the Swans, who gave away a 50-metre penalty by playing on after giving away a free kick. Walked into the goal square, Jed Walter is the beneficiary.

The Swans have made a bright, but wasteful, start. They’ve controlled the first 10 minutes here but have not made it count on the scoreboard.

Charlie Curnow missed two set shots you’d have expected him to convert and Justin McInerney was astray with his shot from 45 metres out.

There’s an injury concern for the Swans. Skipper Callum Mills is getting his back worked on after copping a nasty hit. He’s tried to come back on once but is not moving freely.

Callum Mills calls correctly, and the Swans are kicking to the left of screen at Norwood Oval.

There was some hand-wringing over a potential jumper clash between the red and white of the Swans and the pink of the Suns. As long as the red doesn’t run on the Swans’ strip, there won’t be any issues.

The Swans are going for the Opera House on their red V and white on the back. It’s kind of a mix between their old South Melbourne strip and their jumper from the early 1990s, and it gets a big tick from me.

I don’t mind the pink of the Suns. I read somewhere it is one of their best-selling jumpers.

But enough about fashion. The Swans have kicked the first goal of the game, through Chad Warner, who ran through 50 and kicked it on the outside of his right boot.

Essendon have made history … by not making history.

The Bombers have broken their 17-game losing streak and avoided setting the longest-losing streak in their history.

After more than 330 days without singing their club song, the Bombers finally got the chance to get throaty.

Lachie Blakiston in his 15th game had never played in a win.

Four Bombers in total - Blakiston, Archer May, Jake Farrow and of course debutant Sullivan Robey - had never played in a win. More Gatorade might be needed for the team song.

Essendon have ended a horror 17-game losing streak with a morale-boosting 45-point win over Melbourne at Adelaide Oval. It was their worst run of outs in history.

They trailed by six points at half-time, but turned the match on its head after the long break. They kicked 11 goals to two across the last two quarters.

Brad Scott avoided the ignominy of becoming the first Essendon coach to lose 18 straight games.

“It’s been a tough 18 months for the players, for the fans, for the coaches, but to have a really solid win today means the world to us,” captain Andy McGrath said on Fox Footy after the game.

McGrath spent the afternoon trying to shut down Melbourne excitement machine Kysaiah Pickett - who had 28 possessions and kicked two goals.